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Financial Aid

Philosophy: Carleton's tradition of extending educational opportunities to academically qualified students and meeting their financial need is based on a deep commitment to the belief that a true liberal arts education exposes students to varying backgrounds and points of view outside, as well as inside, the classroom. For this reason, and the more pragmatic one that many parents cannot afford the costs of education today, the College encourages high school students to apply for admission without regard to their financial circumstances. The basic philosophy underlying the student financial aid program at Carleton is that families have the primary responsibility to finance their children's education to the extent that they are able. When a family cannot afford our costs, Carleton is committed to meeting a student's need with various types of aid for all those admitted, for all four years.

How to Apply: Carleton is a member of the College Scholarship Service (CSS), a cooperative activity which processes the confidential statements submitted by families in support of their application for financial assistance. The many colleges using the service join in the belief that financial aid should be awarded to students only after careful consideration of the family's ability to contribute to the cost of their children's education and determination of their demonstrated financial need. All families who wish to be considered for financial aid must complete the CSS Profile. In addition, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be completed to qualify for any applicable Federal and State assistance. No separate Carleton aid form is required for new students, while returning students are asked to submit an institutional application. However, all student applicants and their parents must submit completed and signed copies of their previous year's IRS income tax return including W-2 forms and all schedules to finalize any financial aid award.

Terms of Assistance: When financial need is demonstrated, assistance will be granted under the following conditions:

All financial aid awards are made for one year only. It is customary to meet the student's total demonstrated need by utilizing a combination of grants, work-study, and loans. With the exception of work, financial aid is distributed equally at the beginning of each term (i.e. fall, winter, spring terms). Student employment earnings are direct deposited to the student and are paid according to the number of hours worked at the end of each pay period.

Receipt of any financial assistance from sources other than Carleton College must be reported to the Student Financial Services Office. These outside awards will result in an adjustment in the financial aid package in order to remain within a student's calculated financial need and to utilize all resources available to that student. Outside or private scholarships reduce the student's self help award, first the loan, then the work-study (loan and/or student employment) on a dollar-for-dollar basis. In this way, the students benefit directly by reducing their loan debt. It is the College's policy to not reduce grants until all self-help components of the award have been eliminated. The exception to this policy involves Federal Pell Grants and Minnesota State Grants, and other need-based federal or state grant programs, which are usually estimated in the student's initial award. Adjustments to the loan or work awards resulting from outside aid are made in succeeding years upon the receipt of those funds.

A complete financial aid application (CSS Profile, FAFSA, and parent and student federal tax returns, and follow-up forms) submitted before deadlines is the responsibility of the student. Deadline dates are “priority deadlines” and will be enforced according to the availability of aid funding for that year. Those that meet the deadline will be given consideration for assistance first. Other applications will be considered according to the date received and current funding levels.

Renewal of Aid: Financial aid forms must be completed each year. A student and his or her family may assume that the College will continue to provide comparable assistance for subsequent years insofar as the family's financial circumstances remain stable. As those circumstances change, financial aid may also change. It is important to understand that financial aid administered by the College is not renewed automatically. Parents and students must complete and submit the necessary forms and need analysis documents each year (i.e. CSS Profile, FAFSA, parent and student federal tax returns). At Carleton, financial aid is related to demonstrated financial need rather than academic measures. However, students must be making normal progress toward graduation in order to have their aid renewed.

Types of Financial Aid Available:

Merit Aid: A small proportion of Carleton's financial aid is given as non-need or merit based aid. The scholarships that are merit based are the National Merit Scholarship, National Achievement Scholarship, and the National Hispanic Recognition Scholarship. Those who select Carleton as their first-choice college with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation will receive a scholarship worth of $2,000 per year, for four years. The Bailey Instrumental Music Scholarship can also be merit based (or need-based) aid available to students majoring or intending to major in music, and who study and perform on orchestra strings, woodwinds, and brass instruments. Auditions are required and the scholarship is worth a minimum of $2,000 per year, plus music lessons and support for summer music institutes.

Need-Based Aid: There are two major categories of need-based aid: gift aid and self-help aid. The gift aid is given to the student in the form of grants and scholarships, and does not need to be repaid. The self-help aid needs to be either earned (work-study) or repaid (student loans).

Gift Aid includes grants and scholarships. The majority of the dollars received by students at the College is in the form of Carleton Grants and Carleton Scholarships. To the student, there is no difference whether they have received a grant or scholarship from the College. Any student who is eligible for need-based aid is checked to see if they have the appropriate characteristics for one of many Carleton scholarships (no separate scholarship application is required). Students receiving a Carleton Scholarship are informed of the donor or source of their scholarship and are asked to recognize them for their gift. All students are also checked for eligibility for federal and state grants. To be eligible for gift aid, a student must apply for financial aid by completing the CSS Profile and FAFSA, and submitting parent and student federal tax forms.

The majority of gift aid that Carleton distributes includes the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Minnesota State Grant, and Carleton Grants and Scholarships. A description of each of these aid types may be found in the Student Financial Services website (http://webapps.acs.carleton.edu/campus/sfs/package/).

Self-help Aid comes in two forms. The first is work-study. All students receiving need-based financial aid are awarded work-study, with first-year students authorized to work 8 hours per week and returning students 10 hours per week. The dollars awarded for the hours worked represent an opportunity for students to earn money towards college expenses. Students are usually assigned campus jobs although some students are assigned off-campus jobs at some non-profit organizations. Student employees may choose to apply all or a portion of their earnings to their account in the Business Office. Otherwise, earnings are directly deposited into the student's checking or savings account at then end of each pay period.

The second form of self-help aid is student loans. Loans allow students to finance part of their education through utilization of future earnings resulting from, and enhanced by, the benefits of their college education. These loans must be repaid after the student has graduated or enrollment has ceased. Most student loans may be deferred if the student continues their education beyond their Bachelor's Degree. The self-help aid distributed most commonly at Carleton College includes work-study, Perkins loans, Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford loans, SELF (Student Educational Loan Fund) loans, and PLUS (Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students) loans. A description of each loan, including eligibility, annual loan limits, current interest rates, and repayment terms can be found in the Student Financial Services website (http://webapps.acs.carleton.edu/campus/sfs/loan/types.php3).

Payment Options: There are several payment options at Carleton College. The first option is to pay in three installments, on each at the beginning of either the fall, winter, or spring term. Another option is to pay on an installment plan, where costs are spread out over 12 months, through a plan administered by Academic Management Services (AMS). The cost to participate in this plan is $55 per year. For families not qualifying for need-based aid, some may choose the Prepayment Plan, and pay all four years in advance to avoid increases in costs for subsequent years. Another option is to finance the Prepayment Plan, by putting down a cash payment and financing the remaining amount. This would allow families who do not have the full four-year payment to avoid increase in costs, and have fixed payments for a period of time. Detailed information about each of these options is available upon request from the Business Office.

Maintained by Ann May
Last modified: Monday, 09-Sep-2002 13:07:13 CDT
by Mark F. Heiman, mheiman@carleton.edu